I do not own Inuyasha, that honour goes to Rumiko Takahashi-sama; who did a much better job on it then I could ever do.

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The snow covered the ground like a soft white blanket, and frosted all the trees. The scenery had an ethereal look to it that it did not have any other time of the year.

Which was why, of course, Kagome loved it so.

She loved the cold, the mystical beauty, the briefness of it, and always had. Many of her friends and family wondered how she could stand to continue wearing her short skirts and thin shirts even in the frigid cold of the dead of winter, how she could stand to touch the small flakes of ice with her bare skin.

It was a gift to the girl—that she loved the cold, could only thrive in winter—even before she met the other half of her soul.

At first Kagome thought her other half—her darker half—was the boy with the hair the colour of snow and eyes like a white owl's. A connection stretched between them like none she'd ever felt before, and it seemed to the girl that it was a connection of soul mates.

This continued for a good many winters, but the love and completion that Kagome sought did not come with the boy, as she had thought.

For a brief time, her infatuation turned to the brother of the boy, but that was not to be either.

It was winter again when the previous incarnation of Kagome's soul sought her out whilst the girl was alone and lonely—enjoying the weather and scenery.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

"Reincarnation, what are you doing out here in the cold?"

If Kagome hadn't known better, she would have sworn that she heard concern in her voice. Forgetting—if only for the moment—their apparent hatred for each other, Kagome answers truthfully: "Simply enjoying the snowfall, Kikyo."

The undead miko stares at her impassively. "Are you not cold, reincarnation? Your clothing is thin and does not cover very much."

This time, Kagome would have avowed that the other women's eyes snaked up and down her bare legs.

"What about you? I've worn those clothes before, and they're not exactly built for warmth."

Kikyo's brown eyes close briefly. "I am always cold. Simple additions or subtractions to my wardrobe will likely make little difference."

A pause stretches out between the two before Kagome chuckles. "Lucky. I wish that I could be forever cold, live on forever in the beauty of winter. It is like nothing else in this world."

"That is so, Reincarnation. But why would you wish for something so bleak? Winter is the death of the world."

Kagome smiled dreamily, "Not really, Kikyo. Winter is just the time of the year in which life is hardest to live, but life still persists. Trees still are green, wildlife still roam, and humans still grow. Only those not strong enough to live die during Winter. I want to love someone like that."

The other woman merely stared until Kagome continued, "Someone as beautiful as winter, but strong enough to survive through it—both the physical winter and the winter of the mind. I am always attracted to physical characteristics reminiscent of winter as well." Kagome blushed, suddenly realizing how much she had said to the woman who had been their enemy before and likely would be again.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you with my fantasies, Kikyo. I should probably be going." Kagome stood, and turned to leave, only to be stopped by a cold hand on her arm.

"I have always dreamt of spring, Reincarnation. When life once again springs eternal, when love is in the air, when warmth returns to the earth and the cold melts away. I think that I could love someone like that, someone who brings life to everyone they touch, someone who is as warm and lovely as the spring," the other woman revealed softly, gently drawing the other girl into cold arms.

"I had long since given up on finding someone who is like the spring, Reincarnation," Kikyo whispered.

"Please don't call me that," Kagome whispered back, "we are two different people, even if we share a soul."

A small smile graced Kikyo's lips as they drew closer to Kagome's. "Kagome, then."

Their lips met, in a chaste but passionate kiss that lasted until Kagome's lungs burned with the lack of air.

"Kagome, if you will be my springtime, then I will be your winter. Does that meet with your approval?"

Kagome answered her with another resounding kiss.

\/\'/\/'\/\'/\/

The next day, Kikyo joined the Inuyasha party, with no explanations given, no attempts to steal the hanyou's soul, and very little in the way of an apology for her previous attempts. It was only Kagome's support for letting her join that prevented the others from attempting to kill the woman.

Inuyasha was suspicious of it at first, until he heard Kikyo call Kagome "spring". That put any doubts he had out of his mind.

Kikyo had always loved the springtime.

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I don't know why I wrote this. Wait, actually, I do, I just don't know how I came up with this crazy idea. Please review if you liked this, or even just to let me know if I messed up past and present tense throughout (again).